1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to the formation of a device isolation layer of a semiconductor device.
2. Discussion of Related Art
An increase in leakage current in semiconductor devices can lead to an increase in power consumption and heat generation. Thus, performance and reliability of the semiconductor device may deteriorate. For example, if the semiconductor device is installed in a mobile apparatus, the leakage current of the semiconductor device can cause the run time of a portable battery to be reduced. Further, as the integration density of semiconductor devices increases, leakage current may result from off-state leakage current of a transistor, leakage current caused by drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL), and leakage current caused by hot carriers. As operational voltages of an NMOSFET and a PMOSFET decrease and the channel length of a gate decreases, the leakage current caused by hot carriers can have a strong effect on the reliability and the leakage current of the semiconductor device.